I-T Department to seek documentary evidence from assessees

VIJAYAWADA: If you have filed income-tax returns for the assessment year 2007-08 with the claim of a refund exceeding Rs.10,000, don’t be surprised if you receive a letter from the I-T Department asking you to appear before the assessment officer and show the supporting documents.

Though the IT Department had earlier stated that salaried individuals falling under the Tax Deduction at Source category need not attach any annexure while filing the returns for 2006-07, the Central Board of Direct Taxes has recently issued certain guidelines making it clear that documentary evidence in support of the claim for refund would have to be presented by non-corporate assessees who do not fall in four specified categories.

I-T Commissioner R.C. Pramanik told a press conference on Thursday that the refund claims of non-corporate assessees would be processed without insisting on evidence only in the case of four categories: claims on salary paid by the government; claims on salary paid by Central or State public sector undertakings; claims on tax deducted by public sector banks on interest paid for deposits; and claims up to Rs.10,000 in all other cases.

In the case of returns filed by corporates through e-filing system, evidence would not be sought if the claim was not more than Rs.25,000. He saud the new guidelines had been issued as the Department was not yet fully ready with nation-wide computerised network. “We did not want annexures to be submitted at the time of filing returns as we wanted to make a beginning towards ultimate objective of e-filing.”